361 unsung heroes of the pandemic





My day count being off is kind of hysterical. How did this happen? As of tomorrow, we've been in lockdown for a year, and I've blogged every day, but I'm only at #361. So much for my accounting.

But as long as we're on accounting, how about a post dedicated to the unsung heroes of the pandemic?

Boxed wine. In years past, we have flirted with boxed wine on camping trips or at the holidays, but last year, the stuff became a fixture in our house. I don't know if this will outlast the pandemic, but we've gone from buying one box, then running out, and eventually buying another, to pretty constantly having one red on the counter, and a pink in the fridge.

Walking the dogs. You all know I do this everyday, but what you don't know is last year I increased the length of that walk from 45 minutes to 90 minutes. This happened because I met up with my friend G-Love, and that's what she told me she does, and she's always been a pretty good exerciser. So I copied her, unintentional at first. (She recently told me she upped her game to two hours, so, goals...)

To make walking interesting, I opted to build our dogs knowledge of the city, and connect their map together. So we've gone down all the streets we usually don't. We've spent time in Noe Valley, Hayes Valley, the Western Addition, Nopa, Twin Peaks, Diamond Heights, Sutro Heights, Liberty Hill, and the Haight. Big takeaways? There are tons of cute Victorians between the Castro and Noe Valley. Nopa is the currently most rapidly gentrifying area I've been through, and I'm sure the Western Addition would have been if all the old homes hadn't been torn down. The housing stock in Nopa is really quite charming.

Before the pandemic, I took the dogs to Buena Vista Park quite often. But as the parks got crowded, it was necessary to find quieter spots (with less human poo containing drug remnants). Mount Sutro to the rescue.

Recently, they've been thinning the trees up there, which makes it a little less "where am I? Is this really the city?" but also has opened up some lovely views.

The internet has been a pretty big deal during the pandemic. Our provider MonkeyBrains uses a network of rooftop wireless dishes to provide connection. They are awesome. But sometimes, like yesterday, when it gets windy, something gets blown out of alignment or something. And when the internet goes out, we sure notice.

There are more, but I'm out of time for the day. Thank you, little things!

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